Pivotal Tracker Review

A pivotal Tracker is a tool inspired by agile software development methods. Agile software is updated regularly with minor tweaks rather than a single significant update to make it faster and more responsive. It’s also designed for and by software developers, with its benefits and drawbacks. It’s the best bespoke tool there for a specific type of company, but it’s not for everyone. Pivotal Tracker will not suffice if you have your own “DIY” methodology. Because the developer, Pivotal Labs, is conservative in its principles and committed to agile methods, this is the case. It’s not possible to create your workflow on top of it. 

Because Pivotal Tracker isn’t a generic tool that tries to appeal to everyone, you can’t just jump in and start using it like most other tools. It’s not a Windows PC or even a Mac; it’s the project management world’s Linux machine, making it robust but misunderstood and not to be taken lightly. Pivotal Tracker works like this at its most basic level. You begin by brainstorming in the Icebox, a particular group for stories that have yet to be published. You can use this to familiarize yourself with the system and learn its essential functions before assigning tasks to your employees. Your assignments are referred to as stories in Pivotal Tracker, and they are estimated in points rather than hours. The system will walk you through the entire process, from the moment you begin writing a story to when you finish and deliver it. You can even introduce it to the customer and have them accept or reject a story right then and there using the software. These features alone make it a compelling option, particularly if your company can adapt to Pivotal Labs’ methodology. The project management software has all of the features. Still, it also has a lot of extras that are unique to Pivotal Tracker and not found anywhere else. 

Pivotal Tracker uses ‘Stories’ to help you keep track of your progress. One of its most appealing features is the variety of story types available. A subroutine runs within a piece of software and allows you to perform a specific task. Microsoft Word, for example, can insert a table. This category is for the fixes you apply after a user reports a bug in the software. Consider it like cleaning the bathroom or switching to winter tires. These stories may not be as exciting as new features, but that doesn’t make them less significant. When you use the agile methodology, you’ll see more new releases because it’s all about little and often. That’s why the release classification system is so helpful. Like all the project management tools, Pivotal Tracker is enhanced by various add-ons that add third-party functionality. It means that even if it doesn’t come with a specific feature you’re looking for, you might be able to find it somewhere else. ProductPlan is a handy little tool that helps you communicate more visually by creating beautiful roadmaps that take you from beginning to end. It’s a great way to show the big picture without getting bogged down in the details, and it’s also an excellent way to get senior management’s buy-in. Even better, getting started only takes a few minutes. Everhour is the tool to use to track your time more transparently. It allows you to track and estimate time from within the Pivotal Tracker user interface, allowing you to forecast the course of future projects better and give clients a realistic idea of costs before signing a contract. Usersnap is all about capturing feedback, tracking issues, and providing support to help you build great digital products and services. One of its most features is the ability to chat with customers from within their applications, allowing them to collect real-time feedback without disrupting the user experience.